Central-style red mole with braised turkey breast

Tear the stems off the dried pasilla, mulato and ancho chilies, open them and shake out the seeds.

Roast the tomatillos under a broiler about five minutes per side until blackened in spots and soft; scrape into a bowl with their juices.

Toast sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, until golden, about five minutes; add to the bowl.

Heat fresh pork lard in a skillet and fry the chilies on each side just until they change colour.

Cover the chilies with hot tap water, weight with a plate and rehydrate about 30 minutes.

Fry whole almonds and garlic cloves until brown, then raisins briefly until puffed and slightly browned; add to the bowl.

Salt the turkey breast on both sides and brown it all over in a hot pan.

Taste the soaking liquid: if sweet, keep it; if bitter, replace it with water.

Blend the chilies with their soaking liquid until as smooth as possible; strain through a medium mesh strainer.

Add cloves, anise, black pepper, cinnamon, the toasted bread broken up and chopped chocolate to the bowl of roasted ingredients.

Add about a cup of water and blend until completely smooth, adding a little more water if it stops moving; press through a strainer.

Melt pork lard (or vegetable oil) in a deep pot; add the chili paste and stir until reduced to the consistency of tomato paste, 8 to 10 minutes.

Add the second puree and cook, stirring, until again about as thick as tomato paste, another 8 to 10 minutes.

Add six cups of water and simmer over medium-low heat about an hour, or three or four hours.

Season with salt, a little at a time, tasting, then a little sugar until balanced.

Transfer the mole to a shallow cazuela, nestle the turkey breast skin side up almost to the top, and bake about 35 minutes at about 325 degrees.

Cook the turkey to about 150 degrees, then let it sit a few minutes.

Thin the mole with a touch of water to the consistency of a fairly thick cream soup.

Slice the turkey, pour on the mole, set the turkey on top and garnish with toasted sesame seeds and flat leaf parsley.